'Castle' exclusive: 'Veronica Mars' alum lands killer role

Image Credit: Glenn Harris/PR Photos; Karen Neal/ABCABC’s just-renewed Castle is taking a stab at reality TV with an episode centered around the murder of a former contestant on a Top Chef-like series. But that’s not the big news. This is the big news: The ep features Veronica Mars grad Julie Gonzalo as a high school friend of Beckett’s!

Here’s the sitch: Gonzalo (whose post-Mars resume includes stints on Eli Stone and NBC’s in-limbo Day One) guest stars as a beautiful and dynamic restaurateur who finds herself mixed up in the aforementioned murder investigation.

The May sweeps outing, cheekily titled “Food to Die For,” also boasts a cameo by celeb chef Rocco Dispirito as himself.

It’s shaping up to be a busy May for Stana Katic’s smokin’ sleuth. In addition to the arrival of her childhood pal, she’s getting a new love interest in the form of Battlestar Galactica‘s Michael Trucco.